The Youth Hostel at Kirk Yetholm was an excellent, friendly place to stay,
although if I'd known how exuberant the birds were going to be with their
dawn chorus, I'd have shut the window before I went to sleep. It was quiet,
and I'd been lucky enough to be in a room with no-one else in it. The Kirk in
Yetholm chimed the hours in a plain, Presbyterian kind of way, far better
than all that unnecessary bingbonging you get south of the border. (Although
I wouldn't rule out the possibility of more bingbonging to come as I get
further into Scotland.)

The walk started into the gently rolling landscape, the distant green
hillsides dotted with sheep like white aphids. These days, when I walk the
roads I'm not so fussy about facing the oncoming traffic as I ought to be. I
have a pretty good idea what's going on anyway, and sometimes my feet just
need the opposite camber.

It was a simple morning walk, to the house of
friends in Kelso where I was to stay. Bill came to join me and walked most of
the way. He offered me plenty of encouragement, from the viewpoint of one who
had walked the Pilgrimage Against Poverty, from Iona to London.

It
appears that a lot of the arable farming around here is done by contractors.
Bill also said they're talking of bringing the railway back. If I had a hot
dinner for everyone who's said that to me, I'd be happy. We were there before
midday.

Once again, I've been made welcome. They looked after me and allowed me to
spend the rest of the day practically as I pleased;- bathing, getting the air
to my toes, eating, watching the rain outside the window, sitting by the fire
looking at maps and dreaming of what lay ahead.

By the way, as I sat eating lemon drizzle cake, I wondered what
other food was named after precipitation... crunchy granary graupel bread?
sleet treats? Suggestions?

PrayerHoly God, we
thank you for our Sabbaths,chances to rest.Help us keep the Sabbath
holy,so that no-one on the face of the earthis deprived of chances to
rest,not housewives and husbands,not shop workers,not bar
staff,not farmers,not plantation workers,not junior
doctors,not managers,not anyonegoes without a rest.